The 2017 BMW 1-Series Sedan is confirmed for the Production

The famous Bavarian manufacturer has presented a concept version of its brand new compact car at the Motor Show in Guangzhou. The management of BMW is confident that this segment will come to customer’s taste in China as well as in the world market.

The BMW automobile company informed about the plans to create this model for the first time in 2012. It is supposed that the BMW Compact Sedan will seriously compete with the Audi A3 and the Mercedes-Benz CLA.

The company describes the novelty as «an oversized model with a comfortable spacious interior and sports features, revealing the full potential of the sedan.»

The sedan will be called the 2017 BMW 1-Series and designed on the UKL2 platform with a front-wheel drive system, which was also the base for the Mini Clubman and the Series Active Tourer, which is not for a long time used for the X1 crossover.

The Model Exterior and Interior

The designers of the Bavarian brand did their best in the development of the concept version of the car to produce a luxury prototype of the 1-series sedan with a strong aggressive exterior and rather distinctive sporty character.

The recently presented concept shows that the front of the car body has acquired an original grille, the headlights are made of light-emitting diodes, and a massive front bumper has re-designed air intakes. The side view of the model is distinguished by the huge lightweight 20-inch alloy wheel arches, the dome shaped roof and extraordinary ribs on the doors.

The rearview mirrors on the thin horizontal holders as well as the hidden handles for doors of the conceptual version of the car are rather delightful.

Of course, the production model will not feature such impressive door handles and mirrors, the wheel disks will be not so noticeable, but in general, the exterior design will be very attractive.

Fresh shots of the heavily camouflaged model do not allow us to make a complete comparison with the concept, but it can be seen that the BMW 1-Series will be maintained in the classic style of the car manufacturer. According to the photographers, who managed to spot the novelty, the model is slightly less than the current BMW 3-Series. The eye catches the luggage compartment door, which in relation to the hood is much higher.

As for the interior of the vehicle, the 8.8-inch display of the modern multimedia system, an extraordinary dashboard as well as a leather trim can be easily observed. The new generation of the BMW 1-Series will be more spacious.

Technical Characteristics of the 2017 BMW 1-Series

The basis for the novelty is a front-wheel drive system. It is achieved due to the new UKL architecture, which was used for the new 2016 BMW 2-Series Active Tourer and the 2014 MINI Cooper Hardtop. The decision on its application has caused a lot of controversy, but the example of the main competitors of the car – the front-wheel-drive Mercedes CLA and the Audi A3 – proves the success of the plan. The manufacturer claimed that this platform would be used in seven different cars, which would soon be presented.

The range of the powertrains should be similar to the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer – the four-and three-cylinder versions, equipped with turbochargers. The top-end BMW 1-Series will be powered with an engine that is mounted in the 225i model. This power unit due to its turbocharged four-cylinder engine will produce a peak power of 231 hp.

It is known that in addition to the front-wheel drive, the car will feature the all-wheel drive system. Immediately after the launch of BMW 1-Series production, the M-version is scheduled to appear. According to preliminary information, the four-cylinder engine with an output of 300 hp will also be available for this novelty.

The UKL platform from BMW is very flexible. Thus, it is possible, that the vehicle can receive a six-cylinder engine. But that is only speculation. If such an option model appears, it should not be expected that it will be called M1. The marketers will probably choose a more impressive name for it.

If taking into consideration, that the engines and the platform are sufficiently tested on other models of the manufacturer, the main reason for the rescheduling of the car launch is the need for the front-wheel-drive performance improvements. In the comfortable driving conditions, the xDrive sends all the torque to the front pair of wheels, but when a slippage is detected, the electronic system redirects the power flow to the rear wheel pair. The advantages of such a system – the pleasure of driving and perfect handling, associated with the rear-wheel drive.